Mike O'Brien
Mike O’Brien has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for … well, quite a while. At Multichannel Merchant he focuses on the world of direct-to-customer operations and fulfillment, editing MCM’s weekly O+F Advisor newsletter, and programs the annual Ecommerce Operations Summit conference. Previously Mike was a senior account executive for Marx Communications, a boutique public relations firm working with marketing and advertising technology companies. Other past work includes stints as a media relations consultant for a concert promoter, a marketing communications specialist for a pharma software firm, a research analyst covering corporate e-learning and a daily newspaper reporter on every beat imaginable – except sports.
Retailers considering whether to enter a new market via cross border with third-party logistics partners or with an in-country presence should consider factors like their cost of capital and inventory carrying policy, as well as what existing assets can be leveraged in that country, two experts told Multichannel Merchant.
Retailers are spending more on marketing data capture than mobile heading into the 2014 holidays, based on a survey by Edelman Berland for eBay Enterprise.
In the MCM Outlook 2014 survey, the largest number of respondents (26%) said UPS was their primary global carrier, followed by FedEx and the United States Post Office (18%) and DHL (12%). This outcome may be the result of a largely U.S.-based audience, as DHL is generally considered the world’s shipping/logistics leader, followed by FedEx and UPS.
FedEx reported Q1 revenue and earnings that beat analyst expectations, and announced plans for 50,000+ seasonal hires to deal with holiday shipping volumes.
FedEx announced a 4.9% increase in FedEx Ground, FedEx Express and FedEx Freight, effective January 5, doing so for the first time ahead of rival UPS.
UPS is calling for 90,000 to to 95,000 temporary workers to handle the holiday season’s shipping crunch, a significant increase over 2013.
A listing of some recently announced expansions and additions of distribution and fulfillment centers.
In a first in the athletic footwear and apparel space, Foot Locker has started a trial of same-day/next-day delivery at five stores in California, with plans to roll it out at its 1,300 locations across the U.S. and Canada
Consumers in the UK market respond well when credit for returns is applied faster, attendees were told at Multichannel Merchant’s Growing Global conference.
Deeping their existing relationship, the U.S. Postal Service last month started a two-month test run of delivering groceries for AmazonFresh in San Francisco.